Обзоры и тесты Рунета и окрестностей за 30 августа 2018 года

Call it circumstance, an unnatural attraction towards stand-out design and functionality, or some of us, around the office simply showing our age and geeky nature. Regardless of the particular reasoning behind it, we kind of liked the BlackBerry KEY2 and judging by some of the responses, we have been reading in our review , we're definitely not ... Читать дальше

Back in the days before what seemed like an inevitable doom for BlackBerry, it was a company known for producing keyboarded smartphones for people of all walks of life. Whether you were a kid who wanted a pink Curve, a business man for whom anything but the most serious Business Bold 9900 was sub-par. Or even if you just wanted a regular ... Читать дальше

It's barely been three months since BlackBerry (rather, TCL Communications) launched the KEY2, and the company is already ready to unveil a new variant here at IFA 2018. It was always our intention to bring two variants of the KEY2 line, a BlackBerry spokesperson told Engadget. The KEY2 LE is a more accessible version of the original, with a ... Читать дальше

The BlackBerry Key2 LE has been launched at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany and offers a more affordable QWERTY keyboard experience that the firm hopes will not only be attractive to businesses, but also tempt consumers back to the physical 'board. BlackBerry Mobile has used the flagship BlackBerry Key2 as the foundations for the Key2 LE and has made ... Читать дальше

The BlackBerry Key2 made quite a splash when it landed earlier this year, borrowing the best aspects of the KeyOne and refining it for hardcore enthusiasts. While we liked that device , many considered the $650 price tag to be just a bit too hefty for a Snapdragon 660 processor. This time, BlackBerry has shaved off a few of the finer points of ... Читать дальше

Just a few months after the release of the BlackBerry Key2, the TCL-owned brand is back with a lighter, cheaper version of its keyboard-toting smartphone. The BlackBerry Key2 LE looks very much like its pricier sibling, boasting virtually the same design and keyboard. Look a little deeper, however, and you’ll discover that plenty has changed – ... Читать дальше

BlackBerry Key2 LE The BlackBerry Key2 shows how the world is coming around to accepting a phone with a physical keyboard again. It has taken just three months for TCL Communications — the company that licences the BlackBerry name for hardware — to release the Key2 worldwide, compared to the nine months it took the KeyOne to launch across the same ... Читать дальше

Samsung is at it again with the Note9, right on schedule. Amidst a brutal anti-Apple ad campaign, they’re hoping a cool new S Pen is enough to carry the day. Could there be more waiting for us under the hood? We’ll tear down to find out! Here are some initial Notes on the 9: Notchless edge-to-edge 6.4" Super AMOLED display with 2960 × 1440 ... Читать дальше

Sony has always had its own, rather unique approach to mobile design. Whether you liked the boxier look of old, favour the curves of the new "Ambient Flow" concept or don't really find either appealing, it is hard to ignore one irrefutable accomplishment of the Japanese design team - continuity. It's a hard thing to describe but it basically boils ... Читать дальше

Sony Mobile isn't the smartphone manufacturer you go to for a device that pushed boundaries. The company has been a stickler when it comes to design especially, but also things like display resolution, display panel and even software experience. Something shifted at Sony Mobile at the beginning of 2018 though. The Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Premium ... Читать дальше

Sony Xperia XZ3 first look: Sony’s first phone with an OLED display might be its best flagship yet Sony’s flagship phones have a short lifespan. It’s been just six months since the unveiling of the Xperia XZ2 and Sony has already revealed its successor at IFA 2018. Having such a short gap between high-profile releases isn’t great for the consumer, ... Читать дальше

Sony has consistently failed to make money from smartphones for as long as we can remember, but it's not giving up. The immediate strategy is to focus on the heavyweight division, competing against other companies striving to make the very best phone around. But Sony's gotten into the habit of releasing new devices every few months, and it's ... Читать дальше

Earlier this year, Sony revealed a high-end phone with sparkling specs. Sony Xperia XZ3 in Black and White Silver David Phelan It was big and powerful with a cutting-edge camera and 4K screen (Sony's second phone with such a resolution). For some it might have been too big. Today, Sony has revealed the Xperia XZ3, its latest flagship smartphone ... Читать дальше

Can the introduction of a Bravia-inspired OLED screen make Sony a challenger again? Apple has its ecosystem. Samsung has its near-perfect design. Google and Huawei have their clever camera tech. OnePlus has its irresistible price of entry. Sony? Well, Sony is a company that, all things being equal, should be firing out top-notch smartphones like ... Читать дальше

Is an OLED screen reason enough to pump out another phone, just months after the XZ2? The Sony Xperia XZ3 is here. It was an inevitability, but going by the way Sony names its phones it really could have been anyone's guess as to what Sony's next flagship device would be called. While Apple and Samsung have a fairly straightforward way of keeping ... Читать дальше

Smartphone innovation is a mixed bag. On one hand, we’re treated to fancy all-display beauties and triple camera arrangements, but on the other end of the spectrum... well, you’ll find silly side-squeezing features and naff 3D facial-scanning technology. READ NEXT: The best smartphones you can buy Many phone manufacturers squeeze in a gimmick or ... Читать дальше

A stunning display can change your entire experience with a smartphone, and for the latest flagship from Sony the company has decided to focus on delivering one of the best screens on the market. Alongside some other less important upgrades, the key highlight of the new Sony Xperia XZ3 is certainly its new OLED display that replaces the tired IPS ... Читать дальше

When we got wind that HTC had an announcement up its sleeve for IFA 2018, we wondered if the Taiwanese manufacturer had plans for bumping off the U12+, just months after its early summer launch. Surely not another top-of-the-range phone so soon? Panic not, U12+ owners. The U12 Life is a mid-range handset, set to cost less than half the price of ... Читать дальше

The Motorola Moto Z2 Play was one of our favourite mid-range phones of 2017, as well as the best value for money in its price category. A year has passed since that review, and now there’s a new member of the ever-expanding Moto family: the Moto Z3 Play. While the Moto Z3 Play doesn’t stand out among its rivals in performance terms, it offers ... Читать дальше

Oppo, of late, has been pushing the boundaries of smartphone design, and that trend isn't stopping with the F9 Pro. It was just a few weeks ago that we saw the truly bezel-less Find X smartphone arrive. With its 93.8 percent screen-to-body ratio and its pop-out camera module, it was an exciting new design that suddenly made every other flagship ... Читать дальше

As per usual, Samsung’s flagship is top drawer, but it struggles to justify its huge price tag The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 first appeared in the unforgettable must-read page-turner of July: the press release accompanying the Samsung Electronics Second Quarter 2018 financial results . No? Well, anyway, buried deep in the 2,109 words was our first ... Читать дальше

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is here and yes, it looks very similar to the older Note 8. As I wrote in my first impressions and in the camera comparison , however, there is a hint of change in the new Galaxy Note 9. After using it for a week, I have to conclude that it is no longer the productivity device that’s aimed at businessmen in suits, or ... Читать дальше

Samsung can take credit for sparking an interest in big phones. The original Galaxy Note ( Review ) with its 5.3-inch screen was met with scepticism and a bit of ridicule at first, but by today's standards, it would seem almost dainty. The trouble for Samsung is that with nearly all phones (including its own) pushing the limits of what a pocket ... Читать дальше

Samsung can take credit for sparking an interest in big phones. The original Galaxy Note ( Review ) with its 5.3-inch screen was met with scepticism and a bit of ridicule at first, but by today's standards, it would seem almost dainty. The trouble for Samsung is that with nearly all phones (including its own) pushing the limits of what a pocket ... Читать дальше

The HTC U12 Life feels like it was created from scratch. In a vacuum. It’s a peculiar device that’s a little difficult to pin down. It doesn’t share all that much in common with its predecessor the U11 Life , and not so much with its namesake the U12 Plus either. It does away with HTC staples like Edge Sense and Sense Companion – ... Читать дальше

After the disappointment that was the HTC U12 Plus, the Taiwanese company is back and once again trying to crack the mid-range. The HTC U12 Life ditches all the gimmicky extras (squeezable sides, unresponsive haptic buttons) of its pricier sibling, instead looking to offer the right balance of affordability and performance. HTC U12 Life – Price ... Читать дальше

Xiaomi has perfected the art of pleasantly surprising its fans and followers, and it has done so unveiling great smartphones with striking specs at unexpected prices. This strategy has also played a major role in the growth and success that Xiaomi has achieved in India. But this time around, the company has pleasantly surprised everyone by ... Читать дальше

Infinix Note 5 comes with a massive 4500mAh battery, AI-powered cameras and a crisp display. The Infinix Note 5 comes with the purest form of Android 8.1 Oreo. Rating: Finding a good smartphone these days is quite a task — thanks to the prices that have skyrocketed, leaving most people in the lurch. Seeking a handset that boasts stylish ... Читать дальше

When it comes to smartphones, the term “flagship” is thrown around an awful lot. It seems every 3-6 months you an announcement touting a device as a flagship or flagship killer. And when it comes to Blu, that seems to be the case even more frequently. In the past Blu would take it rapid fire approach to releasing devices. It would not be uncommon ... Читать дальше

Blu's latest flagship is the Vivo XI+, a metal and glass phone that features a liquid design, a solid spec sheet, and Android Oreo. The phone has a notched 2:1 screen, dual cameras on the back, and an octa-core processor with 6 GB of RAM running the show. Here is Phone Scoop's in-depth review of the newest from Blu. AD article continues below... ... Читать дальше

By now, it’s pretty apparent what it takes to be considered a flagship caliber smartphone. From that all-screen minimal bezel look, to wielding dual-cameras, and wireless charging, these are just a few of the features that typically accompany today’s flagships. Then again, they’re also priced accordingly at roughly $650 starting – with several ... Читать дальше

2018 will be remembered as the year when screen notches became ubiquitous. The notch is undoubtedly a contentious issue in smartphone design, but it is a necessary evil in order to make today's narrow-bordered smartphones a reality. HMD Global , the company that brought Nokia back into the smartphone game last year, has now embraced this design ... Читать дальше

There’s life in HTC yet. Following Google’s acquisition last year, tech pundits (myself included) expected to see HTC’s last hurrah with the 2017 launch of the HTC U11 Plus . I was forced to eat my hat shortly after, though, as HTC’s mobile division is still kicking about. Following a slew of smartphone releases, HTC is back at IFA 2018, with its ... Читать дальше

The life of HTC has been a bit of a rollercoaster: from its heyday highs of mobile phone ruler, to more recent limited sales and its Design Team being acquired by Google. The company's recent phones haven't always been on the mark either: the HTC U12+ was overly chunky in a flagship world where that's not the norm; while the mid-range HTC U11 Life ... Читать дальше